Police officers can be so helpful. One can only guess that's what Jason Ray Sr., 21, of LaPlace was thinking when he allegedly asked a Kenner police officer to go back and grab a bag of marijuana that he had inadvertently dropped along a levee bank, according to arrests reports.

JPSOChad Nicholson, left, and Jason Ray,were arrested and booked on drug charges after Ray allegedly asked a police officer to retrieve a dropped bag of marijuana during a traffic stop.

Ray and a friend, Chad Nicholson, 18, of Reserve, caught the attention of police officers just before 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 27, as residents in the New Orleans area were preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Isaac. A Kenner police officer spotted the pair driving in the 100 block of Veterans Memorial Boulevard, cruising near businesses that closed ahead of the storm, the reports said.

Nicholson drove to the western end of Veterans Boulevard where Ray, his passenger, got out of the car. An officer stopped the vehicle after Ray got back inside and they continued to cruise down the street.

Nicholson had no driver's license, no valid vehicle registration sticker or a plausible explanation for the smell of marijuana wafting from the car's interior.

He allegedly told the officer, "Yeah, we smoked a little weed," when questioned, the arrest report said.

Nicholson admitted there was marijuana in the vehicle but said he didn't know how much or where it was located. Ray provided that information, telling the officer there was about an ounce of marijuana under the seat, the arrest reports said.

But when the officer checked, there was no marijuana to be found.

When informed that the grass was missing, Ray allegedly said: "I hope it didn't fall out of my lap when I got out the car by the levee. Can you go get my weed?"

The officer obliged and found a clear, plastic bag containing 27.6 grams of marijuana right where Ray said he would, according to the arrest reports.

Nicholson, of 450 Homewood St., Reserve, was booked Aug. 28 at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna with drug possession with the intent to distribute, possession of marijuana, driving with no license and having an expired tag.

Ray, of 716 Revere Drive, LaPlace, was booked with drug possession with the intent to distribute, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Both men were released on Aug. 28 on $5,000 bond set for the drug possession with the intent to distribute charges. The bonds set on the other charges were not collected because of crowding at the jail.